7 Undeniable Benefits Of Learning Mandarin

People all over the world commonly refer to Chinese as a language. But Chinese is not a single language spoken by Chinese people. It is an umbrella term referring to a group of languages with several varieties like Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Min, Wu, Gan, etc. 

So if you plan to study Chinese for your future study, for business, or fun, which variation should you choose? Usually, when people refer to "speaking Chinese," they refer to Mandarin Chinese. 

This article will explain why Mandarin is the best choice and tell you about the many benefits of learning Chinese.

Top 7 benefits of learning Mandarin 

1. Mandarin is the official language of China.

China has a lot of different languages. So is there an official one? The answer is yes, and it is Mandarin. Mandarin is also called Standard Chinese, and in China, there are two terms when referring to Mandarin: 国语 (Guóyǔ), which means the national language, and 普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà), which means common speech. 

The history of Mandarin becoming China's official language dates back to the Ming dynasty. Before Mandarin, the official language of China was based on Nanjing's speech, as it had been China's capital for a long time. After the Ming emperor moved the capital to Beijing, the influence of the Nanjing dialect gradually died down, and the Beijing dialect took hold. Since Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect, it naturally became the country's official language.

Mandarin is also Taiwan's national language and one of the official languages of Singapore and the United Nations. 

2. More people speak Mandarin than any other Chinese language.

More than 80% of China's population speaks Mandarin, making it the most widely spoken language in the country and the most spoken language globally. 

According to various sources, more than 1 billion people worldwide speak Mandarin, which means approximately one in eight people on Planet Earth can converse in Mandarin Chinese. 

Additionally, over 70 countries had the Chinese language as part of their national education systems as of the end of 2020. That's 80,000 schools offering Chinese language courses to over 25 million students.

The image below clearly shows the distribution of Chinese languages in mainland China and the dominance of Mandarin.  

Distribution of Chinese languages in China, WikiCommons

3. Mandarin is the international business language.

Strong Chinese language skills can greatly improve your international business and diplomacy career opportunities, especially those involving Chinese business. According to Bloomberg Rankings, Mandarin is the top international language for business, right behind English. The ranking considers the number of speakers, the number of countries where the language is an official language, their populations, financial power, education and literacy rates, and other relevant factors.

China's economy is thriving more than ever, opening many business and job opportunities for people all over the globe. Learning Mandarin today can benefit your business and finances and give you a competitive advantage in the business world!

4. Mandarin has a pinyin system.

Pinyin is the official system of using Latin letters to spell Chinese characters for Standard Chinese. Pinyin was created to simplify learning Mandarin and improve the literacy rate in China during the 1950s. Its core purpose still serves well today. Pinyin is taught in almost every primary school in China. It has also been a life-saver for many foreign learners, helping them remember words faster and pronounce them correctly. 

Meanwhile, this Romanized system is less popular in other Chinese languages. One of the Chinese languages, Cantonese, has its own Romanization system called Jyutping.

However, it's much less common than in pinyin, and native speakers don't use it. Therefore, you'll likely find getting advice or applying that letter system more difficult in your study. 

5. Mandarin has fewer tones.

Another advantage of choosing to learn Mandarin is that it has fewer tones. Tones are integral to learning Chinese languages as they can change the word's meaning. Many learners get confused and find it difficult to master Chinese tones. That's why fewer tones may simplify this problem for you and make it easier to speak Chinese correctly!

Mandarin only has four major tones, though some linguists consider the neutral tone the fifth.

On the other hand, Cantonese, the second major Chinese language, has six major tones and three other high, mid, and low-level tones. That's nine tones, four or five more than Mandarin. Additionally, the Hokkien Chinese language, spoken by some in Taiwan and Fijian Province, has seven tones.

From a foreign language perspective, Mandarin is easier than other Chinese forms.

6. Mandarin uses simplified characters.

As a part of the Chinese Communist Party's reformation, the government created and promoted simplified Chinese to be the standard writing system of the nation. Learning Mandarin means you can speak and read in most places in China. 

However, some regions, such as Hong Kong or Macau, use traditional characters. So unless you plan to do business or study there, simplified Chinese is your safest choice. 

7. There is a wide range of learning resources for foreigners.

With a tremendous number of people using and speaking Mandarin, it makes sense that most Chinese textbooks and online resources are all aimed at learning Mandarin. You will notice fewer materials for other Chinese languages, with less variety.

For online help, you can use Pandanese for their Chinese characters flashcards to build Chinese vocabulary. Learn online or learn with the Pandanese app with mnemonics stories, Spaced Repetition System (SRS), and hearing the hanzi and typing in pinyin, you can learn over +6,000 characters in less than a year!

When studying Mandarin Chinese, it's essential to have a solid understanding of Chinese grammar to communicate and understand the language effectively. You can easily find Mandarin textbooks from a bookstore, Youtube videos, and hundreds of other free websites that help with Chinese grammar.

In closing

It is never too late to learn Chinese!

If you're interested in Chinese culture or doing business in China, then learning Chinese can open a new world to explore. Hopefully, you'll see that these benefits will help you decide on learn Mandarin Chinese. And no worries, plenty of resources are out there to help you on your journey.